DARK WOLF (Dark Series #25) by Christine Feehan

(I bought this book.)

Blurb:
WHERE DARK LYCAN ENDED, DARK WOLF BEGINS...

BOOK NUMBER 25 IN CHRISTINE FEEHAN'S ACCLAIMED CARPATHIAN SERIES

#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan now delivers her most eagerly awaited novel of all—ten years in the making—in the “the erotic, gripping series that has defined an entire genre” (J. R. Ward).

In Dark Lycan, Christine Feehan journeyed into the heart of the Carpathians, and into the souls of two lifemates stirred by the flush of passion and the threat of annihilation. In Dark Wolf, the breathtaking story continues as the bonds of family are imperiled, and the fate of two lovers lies hidden in the seductive shadows between life and death.

Skyler Daratrazanoff always recognized the miracle that was Dimitri Tirunul, a man beyond any dream that had ever engaged her nights. But she was human. Vulnerable. He was Carpathian. Nearly immortal. She was nineteen. He was an ancient. Yet she held half his soul, the light to his darkness. Without her, he would not survive. Caught between the two warring species, Dimitri has spent centuries hunting the undead to keep his people free, and humans safe. He had survived honorably when others had chosen to give up their souls. But now, marked for extermination by the Lycans, Dimitri found himself alone, and fearing for his life. But salvation was coming…

No Lycan would ever suspect someone like Skyler to dare mount a secret rescue operation. A teenage girl. A human of untested abilities. But she had something no one else had. She was predestined for Dimitri—as he was for her. And there was nothing stronger for Skyler than her desire to see her life-dream come true. Whatever the risk.

Review:
Released on January 7, 2014, this is the 25th installment of the Dark Series, and the 2nd in an internal trilogy (Dark Lycan, Dark Wolf,  Dark Blood).  It's also the very much anticipated story of Skyler and Dimitri.  Fans of this series have been oh-so-curious to see how Christine Feehan handled the very sensitive nature of Skyler's abusive past with her becoming the claimed lifemate to Dimitri, and Dark Wolf does not disappoint.
Let me say first that this is NOT the book to start with if you're new to the Dark series.  Many of these books are easily read as a standalone, despite the multi-book plots and storylines, but Dark Wolf is best enjoyed if you know the entire backstory to Skyler. 

It's interesting how Skyler has struck such a chord among fans of the Dark series.  The author is not shy when it comes to pretty gruesome and detailed torture scenes, and yet Skyler's background, while not the most physically horrific, was certainly the most emotional because she was a helpless child.  Which is why I think Ms. Feehan was brilliant to begin Dark Wolf with Skyler as a strong, brave and determined woman, who has marshaled her friends to save her lifemate, risking her own life in the process.  These acts allow Skyler to shed her identity as a victim and become a powerful woman who can take charge and kick ass if needed.  Her past is always there, but with Dimitri's help, Skyler has learned to not let her abuse define her.  Her triumph is amazing and inspiring - she grows up and into her potential while we cheer her on.
This review won't go into the details of the story because, let's be honest, Feehan's Dark books are all very similar. She has created the fascinating and familiar world of Carpathians, and readers either love or hate the books.  Personally, I find this new trilogy within this long-running series to be a fresh and welcome perspective. Dark Wolf has also allowed the new generation to take center stage, as Skyler, Paul and Josef work together to rescue Dimitri.  It feels like a natural cycle, as the younger generation proves themselves and take their place in society.


Add in the political intrigue and traitorous machinations of a faction of Lycans and Sange Rau, and the Carpathians have new battles to fight.  And really, how hot is Zev Hunter?  Love him!

Christine Feehan's Website
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In September 2014 Christine Feehan will release DARK BLOOD.  This will be the 26th Dark book, and the 3rd book in the internal trilogy that introduced the Lycans.

From Christine Feehan's website:
DARK BLOOD is about a Lycan hunter by the name of Zev who is lifemate to Bronnie, Tatijana's sister.
This book is the third book in the Dark Series Trilogy comprised of Dark Lycan, Dark Wolf, and Dark Blood.

Release Date: September ?, 2014
Number of Pages: ? pages
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0349403168

Dark Lycan (Dark Series #24) by Christine Feehan

(I purchased this book.)

Blurb:

“The erotic, gripping series that has defined an entire genre” (J. R. Ward) continues as #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan links the fates of two strangers bound by a secret in the shadows of the Carpathian Mountains…

Tatijana of the Dragonseekers spent centuries encased in ice with her sister, trapped in limbo between life and death, never speaking to a soul other than those who tormented her. Now, she has been freed from her frozen prison by an unknown descendent. Awakened in human form, Tatijana yearns to explore the modern world in which she now lives—a world with more mysteries than she is prepared for.

Fenris Dalka has returned to the Carpathian Mountains after a long absence to be with his brother. He is scarred by centuries of battle, and every hard-won victory. But the real reason for his return home could prove deadly if discovered by the wrong man—or woman. Upon his arrival, he is compelled by a beautiful and enigmatic stranger who carries the scent of fresh earth, of forest, of the night itself.

In time Tatijana and Fenris will discover all that unites them—their secrets and pasts, their predators, and the hot flush of passion that stirs their souls. Yet just as surely, seduced into the silvery darkness of a full-moon night, they’ll also discover everything ancient and evil that exists to destroy them.

Review:
Dark Lycan is the 24th book in the immensely popular Carpathian series, and it's also the start of a trilogy within the series focusing on the Carpathian/Lycan hybrids.
After 23 previous Carpathian novels, Feehan has produced a novel that feels fresh and familiar, an unlikely combination.  She's infused new blood into her Carpathians (literally and figuratively) with the creation of a new species that brings with it a new and powerful enemy in the form of the Sange Rau, a vampire/werewolf hybrid with the heightened abilities of both.  Just as Carpathian hunters who choose the darkness turn into vampires, Lycans who choose their dark side turn into rogue werewolves.  The mixed blood individuals are stronger, faster and smarter, and the Lycans don't care if they're good or evil, they want them all dead.
Fen is a classic Feehan alpha male, with an edge - after years of living with the wolves, he is what the Lycans call Sange Rau, but he also has found his lifemate, meaning he's superpowerful but not evil.  Although he's a new character to the series (as far as I know), his history was detailed and interesting, and a bit more than the standard "ancient warrior with incredible strength and skill as a hunter" background. 
Tatijana has come out of the healing Earth two years after her rescue from the ice caves, drawn by Fen's presence.  Although she craves freedom after centuries of imprisonment, Tatijana quickly falls in love with Fen, fighting by his side and defending him to the Carpathians, who question why he has returned at the same time as the evil vampire Sange Rau. I thought Tatijana was a little too comfortable with people, and society, after spending her entire life encased in an ice cave.  I understood her need for freedom, but wandering to a rough bar to dance alone seems like an odd way to taste freedom, even though she was under the lifemate compulsion to go there.  So as much as I liked Tatijana as a character, her behavior seemed at odds with her history.
The Lycans have their own hierarchy and elite hunters, and in Dark Lycan we meet Zev, the best of the best.  He knows Fen as a fellow Lycan, and is falling hard for Branislava toward the end of this book. I can't wait to see what happens with those two, and to learn more about the elusive Lycan world as a counterpart to the Carpathians.
One of the positive aspects of Feehan's stories can also be a negative, and that is her repetitive use of phrases. She uses the exact same phrasing repeatedly in each story to describe her heroes and heroines.  Most often I appreciate this, as it really cements the intensity of the personality traits and physical characteristics, helping to solidify the character in my mind's eye.  But after a while it makes me think "yeah yeah yeah" and makes me want to skim paragraphs.  That being said, her word-building is fantastic and so believable, and I think her consistent use of repetition is the reason - any casual Dark Series reader (is there such a person?) has a crystal clear vision of the Carpathians, their world and their enemies as a result.
Anyway, bottom line is I loved Dark Lycan and the fresh feel to this series, which is an unbelievable feat this far along.  Along with the legion of Dark fans, I can't wait for Dark Wolf to finally see Skyler and Dimitri's story.

Next up in the series is Skyler and Dimitri's story,  Dark Wolf, releasing in January.


Read more Dark Lycan reviews on Goodreads.

Check out Christine Feehan's website HERE.

Christine Feehan is a powerhouse writer of the paranormal romance genre, and currently is actively writing four series:  Carpathians (Dark Series), Ghostwalkers, Leopard Series, and Sea Haven series ( of which there are two subseries).  Fans new to Feehan are in for a treat, as she is prolific and very, very good.    The Dark series and the Leopard series deal with vampires, shapeshifters, mages and werewolves.  Both have an extensive and multi-layered back story full of far-ranging conspiracies, evil plots and action, as does the Ghostwalker series.  The Ghostwalkers are elite special forces soldiers who have been psychically and genetically altered, creating amazing abilities and gifts. If you like military ops books with lots of romance, sex and action you will love these books.  The Sea Haven series deal with seven psychically gifted sisters.

Dark Predator (A Carpathian Novel) by Christine Feehan (Book #22 in the Dark Series)

Back of the Book Blurb: 
As brutal as the undead he hunted, Zacarias De La Cruz was a master executioner. Now his stark and savage journey has ended. For his brothers, Zacarias had walked to the edge of madness, but with centuries as a killing machine now left to the past and without a hunt to define him, Zacarias wonders, for the first time in his life, who he really is.
The answer awaits him back home, in Peru, in the betrayal of a woman who is readying her trap, in the vengeance of an old enemy, in the inevitable consequences of a bloody family legacy-and in the deliverance of a lifemate he never could have imagined...

Review:  First, I need to admit I am a Christine Feehan fan.   I really love her Dark Series, the Ghostwalker Series, and her Leopard Series (oddly enough, I'm not so fond of her Sea Haven Series -  go figure.).  That being said, they are all essentially the same.  The woman has a format and believes in sticking to it.  For example:
Incredibly hot, aggressive, alpha male - check.
Beautiful, young, virgin/almost-virgin psychic female - check.
Hero and heroine have a psychic-type link creating an intense bond and really HOT sex - check.
Bad guys (vampires, megalomaniacal billionaires, evil, rotten humans) - check.
Fast paced action with lots of nature/wildlife background and awesome battles and weapons- check.

But her characters, and the entire worlds she creates, are so vivid and well-described that I feel like I'm in the rain forest, or a deep cave, or the ocean.  I feel connected to her heroines, and care about the heroes.  So reading one of her books is both entertaining and very familiar.


I was really excited to read about Zacarias De La Cruz, one of the oldest and darkest of the Carpathians hunters.  The identity of his lifemate was a much debated question on the internet prior to the book release, and I certainly never guessed who it would be - well done, Ms. Feehan!
At its heart, Dark Predator is truly the story of Zacarias and his lifemate, how they come together, fall in love/lust, and begin their relationship. Most of the other Dark books have sub-plots involving the battles of Carpathians against the vampires and some mages who are trying to destroy the Carpathian species.  These storylines are missing in Dark Predator, creating a more intimate relationship story.
Zacarias is unlike most other hunters, and the discovery of his lifemate as he is trying to die honorably shocks him.  He quickly realizes that because he is not like other Carpathians, his relationship with his lifemate will not be the same as others of his species.  I really appreciated how the author handled the fact that Zacarias is about a thousand years old, has avoided almost all human and Carpathian contact for centuries, and has spent the last half-millennia in South America.  So the guy has zero people skills and thinks of women as objects.   His attempts to "rule" his lifemate, while probably realistic, became pretty repetitive ("I will rule you" is a frequent quote).  I found myself missing the steady action of most of her previous books.  Feehan's writing often veers off the path of paranormal romance and skips along the edge of straight-up erotica, and I would argue that is the case here, with dominant/submissive themes in play here, with some pretty abusive scenes.   All in all, a solid entry in the series but not one of the best.

As with her other Dark Series books, this can easily be a stand-alone read, although reading the series in order is helpful for understanding the complex and layered history and relationships. 

For more information about New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan and her many books, visit her wonderful website at http://www.christinefeehan.com/index.php.